1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to baseball bats, and more particularly to weighted practice bats.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the old days, big league baseball teams would drill a hole in the hitting end of an old baseball bat, place about 16 ounces of lead in it and have this weighted bat available at the "on deck" circle so that the next hitter could swing it before he entered the batter's box. The obvious purpose of swinging this weighted or "loaded" bat was to make the hitter's own bat feel much lighter in contrast so that the hitter could have a faster swing or a "quick bat" as the term is used.
Some players preferred to carry two or three bats to the "on deck" circle and would practice swinging them together before entering the batter's box. Most players used the "loaded" bat, however, in the distant past.
About twenty or so years ago the "donut" was developed. This is a metal ring approximately one pound in weight covered in thick plastic (usually red in color). The donut, when slipped over the bat handle, lodges up near the label or "trademark" on the bat identifying the company which made the bat. This is usually a few inches beyond the mid-section of the bat. The donut was an improvement over the lead weighted bat because the hitter could place the donut on his own bat, weight down the bat and practice swinging with a bat with which the hitter was familiar. Before hitting the hitter simply removed the donut by hitting the handle of the bat against the ground and it would fall off.
In recent years another device was invented termed the "Pow'r- Wrap" sleeve which was made entirely of heavy plastic (from 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick) and about seven inches long. The Pow'r-Wrap sleeve is manufactured by Grand Enterprises West, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn. This device, weighing about 16 ounces, was shaped like a cone and was approximately 23/4 inches wide on the receiving end where it was slipped over the knob of the bat and about 25/8 inches on the other end. The Pow'r-Wrap sleeve lodged further up on the hitting surface of the bat than the donut and actually covered the "sweet spot" or the center of percussion on some bats tested. This device distributed the weight over a greater portion of the bat then the donut did but neither the donut or the Pow'r-Wrap sleeve told you where the sweet spot was located on the bat to which they were applied.
If a batter is going to develop maximum power with his swing he has to hit the ball solidly at or very close to the sweet spot or the center of percussion. This is no easy task but the batter certainly is not going to develop this skill unless he knows where the sweet spot is located. When the batter knows where it is, he practices playing "pepper" and batting practice until he is aware unconsciously where it is located and proceeds with the business of hitting the ball at the sweet spot or near it in order to maximize power. When the batter contacts the ball solidly on the sweet spot there is no reaction or vibration in the hands and the ball is propelled like a rocket providing, of course, the batter has great bat speed and hits the ball on its sweet spot at the center of the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,177 to Miggins et al. discloses an apparatus and method for determining the subjective sweet spot or center of percussion for a baseball bat or softball bat regardless of what the bat is made of, be it wood, metal, graphite or other material.
When a baseball player hits a prodigious home run, he is sometimes amazed at the apparent ease with which he accomplished this feat. He may even feel that he could have swung harder than he did because it seemed so effortless to hit the ball that far. In actuality, the baseball player has taken his normal swing but he contacted the ball at the "sweet spot" or center of percussion of the baseball bat. The center of be secured to the barrel 12 with screws, pins or other fastening means 22 known to those skilled in the art. The weighted ring 18 is preferably coated with a rubber or plastic layer to provide a resilient outer layer on the weighted ring 18. Preferably, the weighted ring 18 weighs up to approximately 16 ounces to provide a weighted practice bat 100. Preferably, the weighted practice bat 100 is similar in all respects to the batter's normal bat 10 which he is familiar with except for the addition of the weighted ring 18. The weighted practice bat 100 locates the weighted ring 18 at the exact sweet spot 20 of the bat 100. Thus, as the batter loosens up in the on deck circle with the weighted practice bat 100, the batter is made aware of the exact sweet spot 20 at which he wants to contact the ball.
The advantages of the weighted practice bat 100 are plentiful. The batter has a weighted practice bat to loosen up with which has the same size handle and length as his bat which he will use when facing the opposing pitcher. The weighted ring 18 is permanently secured at the exact sweet spot 20 of the weighted practice bat 100. The weighted ring 18 will not unexpectedly fly off of the bat 100. The weighted ring 18 always remains positioned over the sweet spot 20 which informs any player using the "regular" bat 10 of similar size and shape of the location of the sweet spot 20. The weight added to the bat is concentrated at the location of the sweet spot 20. The enlarged outer diameter of the weighted ring focuses the batter's attention directly to the location of the sweet spot 20 which is exactly where the batter's attention should be in order for the batter to learn where to instinctively make contact with the ball on the bat.
Under no circumstances should it be possible that the weighted material free itself from the bat 100 and become a flying projectile.
Having described the invention above, various modifications of the techniques, procedures, material and equipment will be apparent to those in the art. It is intended that all such variations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims be embraced thereby.